


VENUS

by Celisce



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Canon - Video Game, Crazy, Drama, Drama & Romance, Dystopia, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Horror, Manipulation, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mental Institutions, Mind Games, Mind Manipulation, Monsters, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Other, Pain, Post-Canon, Psychobreak, Psychological Horror, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Scary, Tragedy, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22197916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celisce/pseuds/Celisce
Summary: Having awakened from a coma, night terrors with familiar faces haunted Joseph Oda. He then received orders from the Superiors to capture several subjects. He was the perfect man for the job, considering his background as a former police officer. Seeing the documents, he couldn't see people's faces from the attached photos. Hesitant to mention this unto his superiors, he decided to keep it upon himself.Joseph was entrusted to eliminate all remaining threats against their organization, MOBIUS. It's the only way for ascension, becoming the next Administrator.
Relationships: Leslie Withers/Original Character(s), Leslie Withers/Reader, Leslie Withers/Venus Renault, Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano/Original Character(s), Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano/Reader, Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano/Venus Renault
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	VENUS

**Author's Note:**

> **UPDATE: January 24, 2020**  
>  Synopsis and Chapter 1 have been edited, but no proofreading yet.  
> The newer version is now uploaded.  
> Thank you for rereading/your interest and being patient with me.
> 
> This fanfiction is a sequel to Shinji Mikami's **The Evil Within** video game series, proceeding the second installation.
> 
> The main (unofficial) theme songs for this story:  
>  **Animals** by _Maroon 5_  
>  **In the Androgynous Dark** by _Brambles_.
> 
> In game, the title/menu screen song:  
>  **In the Androgynous Dark (Nest version)** by _Brambles_.

Joseph’s jaws hung low; his chin almost reached the surface of his desk. He scrutinized the dispersed faceless photos of files assigned to him, his black-gloved hands supporting all of his weight. Cold sweat trickled down his cheek. His heart pounded so loudly as if it was about to burst. It was difficult for him to breathe, so he held his chest firmly, trying to catch his breath. His head also began throbbing non-stop.

“What the hell is happening to me…? Why? W-What is this?” he said, skimming the names written on the provided profiles. “T-This is… This is unbelievable.”

Faces never appeared, no matter how many times he blinked. He grunted louder. Reading the names only made the symptoms worse. Words seemed to have multiplied double or triple. His eyes almost rolled back when abrupt recurring pangs plunged within his head, or deep within his brain more likely. Joseph fumbled about atop his desk until all of its contents fell onto the once spotless carpet.

“Where is it?! Where?!”

He growled as his fingers searched for the drawer’s handle down below. His vision swirled alike squinting to watch the kaleidoscope change shapes and colors. However, this wasn’t a moment to be excited about, because his whole body was shutting down. His knees were giving in. Joseph’s stomach churned, and its contents rose upward, reaching his burning throat. He was close to choking when he gagged but prevented himself from vomiting. His shaky hands tightly pressed against his mouth.

Then, a strange fuzzy sensation tickled Joseph’s skin. It was slightly itchy, too. Joseph smelled something of dirt and dust.

He just realized that he fell onto the ground. His entire body still wouldn’t stop shaking. His eyes mindlessly wandered around the room.  
Fortunately, he found what he was looking for.

He crawled toward it, grabbing it. He broke its seal, putting its content in his mouth immediately. Scuffling to get up, he tried to lurch across the room. He successfully acquired water and drank it, some spilling out the corners of his lips down onto his shirt. Leaning onto the counter, he closed his eyes and wheezed for air. Around ten minutes, Joseph’s lungs had cleared up, his sight returned to normal, and his headache was gone.

“Time?” he said, looking up at the ticking clock on the wall. “I-I… I have to leave for my appointment. It’s about to start. Keep yourself together; darn it.”  
He removed his glasses and held the bridge of his nose, putting pressure on it for some relief. Once regaining composure, Joseph sorted his files, left his office, and headed to his appointment.

The meeting barely even began, and Joseph couldn’t help but loosen his collar and readjust his tie for the umpteenth time. He was glad that the symptoms went away. For now.

“All that sighing could scare away happiness for good, y’know,” said the smiling man sitting adjacent to where Joseph was. His sharp beady eyes were piercing; only judgment could be perceived through them.

“O-Oh, haha, sorry…” Joseph hesitantly smiled back and yanked his collar yet again, which unbuttoned it open. He tried to recall what that guy’s name was. It took a minute for him to remember. “…I didn’t realize that I’ve been doing it over and over. Sorry, Mr. Wu.”

Consecutive tapping and squeaking interrupted the supposed silence within the conference room.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the organization’s objectives upon improvements and succeeding missions. The planning process must be done accordingly, through proper agreements between several branches of mutual business partners. Employers and personnel alike must respect one another, and the personnel should maintain the act of a suitable disposition when facing their superiors.

Despite that, Wu had his own principles.

“Maaaaan,” he whined, “thought the bosses would be here already considering I was late a coupla minutes.” He kept drumming the pen and squirmed in his seat. He couldn’t help but rub the sheets of notepad onto the surface of the table, too.

For the entirety of waiting, Joseph and Daichi glanced at each other, noting their colleague’s behavior... or presence alone, rather. Tatiana’s beside Daichi, minding her own business. She thrived on getting the right shape she wanted for her nails with a file; she buffed them endlessly. Everybody was surprised that her fingers never shortened, instead of just the nails, because of all that filing.

“Aw man,” Wu’s eyes kept rolling. His lips puckered, chin wrinkling. He hadn’t quit the childish mannerisms until now.

Tatiana said, still buffing her nails, “I think you have plenty of time to do what you’re doing outside of this area. Maybe you could see yourself out?”

Wu darted at her before saying, “Are ya talking to me?”

Nearing the bosses’ arrival, nobody dared to bicker at this moment. Perhaps, except for these two.

“Oh, wow!” Wu whacked the table with his fist. He craned his head back, shooting daggers towards Tatiana. “Careful with your words, Gutierrez. They could be your demise someday.”

“Excuse me,” Joseph interrupted, “Your mannerisms are... a bit jarring, you see? Perhaps, you should... calm yourself down.”

“The fuck?” Wu huffed and broadened his elbows, resting them onto the armchair. His notorious simper was intact.

“I didn’t mean to tick you off, but I do think Tatiana’s right.” Joseph didn’t bother speaking any more than this, yet his cheek tugged at one side.

Wu was about to retort when everybody else in the room expressed their distaste as well.

“My God, stop it!”

“Keep quiet, Mr. Wu!”

“Oh, really now?” Wu twirled the pen in his hand.

“Hey,” Daichi stood with palms onto the desk, "that’s enough.” In spite of his fame for silence, he was in fact irascible.

“Look at you, I’m sooo scared!” Wu shook his head and waved his hands, fingers wiggling.

“You’re an embarrassment to this syndicate.” Daichi furrowed his brows. He just surrendered and slumped into his seat with a heavy sigh. His line of sight never left Wu’s direction.

“Just knock it off!” Joseph yelled, flinging his hand in the air and slapping it back onto his thigh.

Wu flicked his tongue and stuck it over his teeth. His everlasting smirk didn’t vanish. “...We’ll see about that.”

“Silence.” A man’s voice boomed throughout the area that resounded from the speakers.

Lights off; everyone stiffened. They were ready to meet the Superiors.

Facing the oval table, the farthest wall split into two equal parts, sliding from above and below. The screen within flashed a map, corresponding several red pins wherever each boss was at. Another agent hosted and operated the sequence of the presentation agendas from there onwards. A timetable appeared at the upper right corner. Numerous boxes slid in unison, containing active wavelengths.

Some men and a few women addressed each other. Then, they did the same towards their dignified personnel, only in a stern and authoritative tone.  
“We assume you all know why we’re here,” a man with a gruff voice said. After segments of introductions, they began the conference. “More than a year ago, we, The Superiors, unanimously voted Mr. Joseph Oda as the new Administrator of MOBIUS. His modest demeanor, yet prudent and assertive approach on attempting to rebuild our establishment and for us to regain footing once again. He proved himself worthy of this position, granting effective and exceptional results.”

“That aside,” a woman with a deep voice stated, “let’s conduct our first official operation. There are remaining threats lingering. We order you and the rest to capture the following targets alive and to administer memory-wipe and indoctrination therapy amongst them. The aforementioned shouldn’t be underestimated, for they’ve won this battle twice.”

“If the procedures ever fail and since it’s bound to be done after several years, you are allowed to exterminate said targets instantaneously,” declared a man with a strong apparent Eastern accent.

The host took over and manipulated the screen with a myriad of facts, stating, “Those documents consist of targets’ profiles: complete personal and professional backgrounds, including their current residence or location. The first target is Juli Kidman, also known as Kid.”

Joseph’s eye twitched. His headache came back. He took a deep breath, covering his mouth as he sighed. He expected it to go away soon. His extremities turned cold. He saw Juli Kidman’s mugshot was blank; to be precise, her face was. Though, he shouldn’t cause a scene. He would lose dignity.

“What is going on...?” he thought. He took off his glasses and pinched his nose bridge, shutting his eyes briefly.

Tatiana spotted him, but she let him be at the moment.

“Once an agent at disposal, Kid managed to overcome indoctrination by the man who created the STEM: Dr. Ruben Victoriano, AKA Ruvik. The second target is Sebastian Castellanos, former Krimson City Police Department police sergeant and investigator.”

“Ugh…” Joseph’s vision was warping. He tried his best to be subtle. He felt ill, about to throw up. He coughed once, constraining his voice. Saliva was beginning to well out of his mouth. He wished to escape, but he couldn’t. If the situation wasn’t too crucial, he wouldn’t have stayed otherwise.

“The target’s been reported to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other enlisted mental turmoil to this day, ever since his first infusion to STEM. He’s at his weakest state possible from around late 2016. Nonetheless, don’t underestimate his overall potential; he is both brains and brawn. He triumphed sabotaging MOBIUS, which is more than enough to know who this man truly is.”

“Hey…” Daichi whispered, patting Joseph’s back. “...hang in there, Sir Oda. This’ll be over soon.”

“Y-Yeah. Thanks... Daichi,” Joseph winced.

“No problem.”

The host resumed the report. “The last two targets—third and fourth—are ostensibly associated. Their names are Leslie Withers and Venus Renault respectively. Leslie Withers fled Beacon Mental Hospital without any witnesses. Ruvik seems to possess Withers’ body, but it’s unknown whether or not his possession was effective. If ever this be clarified: Ruvik using Leslie as a vessel, he could create something much more powerful against our STEM: _Concordia_. You’re all required to initiate the mission at 0400. Do whatever it takes to pursue them all—alive.”

“You heard the host,” the man with a gruff voice said, “meeting adjourned. We expect more coming from you, Mr. Joseph Oda. Until next time, agents.”

The windows for the Superiors’ avatars disappeared and so did the presentation.

“Good luck, _Project Concordia_ ,” the host turned off the screen and closed the shutters, hiding it behind the walls.

Joseph’s arm slid across the table, flinging paperwork and scattering pages everywhere. He fainted, his helpless body lying on the floor. His other colleagues were calling out to him. Every time he heard his name, their voices seemed to change—like those from his dreams. They were deafening. It was accompanied by pinging noises and throbbing sensation in the skull. Tatiana touched his neck with the back of her hand. She pulled a syringe from her pocket and injected it at the inner crook of Joseph’s elbow.

He screamed. Blood squirted from his nostrils, dripping down his lips, neck, and chest.

After a few minutes, the symptoms were subsiding.

He gradually started to feel better. Daichi and Wu were supporting him up. His elbows locked around both men’s napes. They held his wrists, him in-between them. In the meantime, Tatiana was busy tidying up his face and clothes. The others watched in concern for their poor fellow.

“S-Sorry…” whispered Joseph. His voice cracked due to his body still recovering. He attempted to stand erect; his palm leaned onto the table. “I... I didn’t mean t—”

“Do you think you’re able to handle operations at dawn?” Tatiana cut him off, dabbing a cloth onto his vest.

“I think so, yeah. Thanks, Tatiana.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard, Mr. Oda." Daichi said. "We’d support you all the way; just like what we’ve been doing.”

“Thank you, too, Daichi and everybody else,” Joseph smiled weakly.

“We can’t just abort the mission, for the words of the Superiors are absolute," Wu said.

“I know. I’ll do something about this. I’ll make sure, so don’t worry too much.”

# — ♀ —

“So, tell me more about the people who seemed familiar?” Tatiana said.

Joseph took a deep breath and sighed. His hands fidgeted; they were sweating beneath the leathery fabric of his gloves. Then, he leaned against the back of the chair.

“They…” He squinted, contorting his expression. His knee bobbed. He gritted his teeth, continuing his speech. “They… felt real? I-It’s like they existed? I really don’t know how to explain this. There’s nothing new aside from the recurring cycle.”

“Mhm,” Tatiana nodded, “take your time. I’ve said this over and over: Memories are easily distorted. Perhaps, you’re just too keen on what your night terrors mean. I suggest you focus on getting better, rather than making your condition even worse.”

“Y-You’re right. I seem to be looking way into this,” Joseph said. He thought the nurse’s words sometimes don’t match her actions. By that, he meant her monotonous yet surprisingly solicitous remarks. He took a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat from his temple. “Would the dosage still be the same?”

“We’ll see. There wasn’t anything new, as you mentioned. Since nothing changed on the matter,” Tatiana shifted her seat. She stood up and searched for Joseph’s prescription bottle inside the medical cabinet. She asked, “why so fixated on your night terrors?”

“It just feels… It feels off. As if I’ve done something wrong. I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt because of those nightmares.”

“Go on?” Having found the pills, Tatiana placed it onto her desk. She proceeded to take a seat, scribbling on paper while listening to her patient.

“The faces during my sleep were clear enough that I kinda knew those people in the real world. I hate that I keep forgetting what they look like whenever I’m awake. It’s hard for me to picture their appearance without any migraines,” Joseph massaged his temples, his elbows resting on his knees. A scuffling noise startled him, casting his eyes on wherever it came from.

Tatiana had pulled a paper towel from its box and handed it to him.

Joseph was reluctant to take it, wondering what it’s for. Before he could say anything, Tatiana pointed out that his nose was bleeding.

He instantly took the paper towel and held it under his nostrils. He removed it and gawped at the thing, seeing feathery droplets of blood. He put it back to stop the bleeding, letting the towel absorb the rest.

“If you ever have a relapse again—like weeks ago—call me at once, Joseph.” Tatiana passed the pills and prescription next.

Joseph took the items, sliding them in his pocket. Muffled, he said, “I will.”

“You’re free to visit me at any time.”

“Yeah, just please don’t tell anyone about it yet,” Joseph slowly got up to turn to the exit, “thanks. Bye, Tatiana.”

“Alright.” Tatiana strolled away and entered the next room, which seemed to be the storage area.

Once out of the clinic, Joseph checked his watch. Only a few more minutes prior the meeting with the Superiors began. Finding a waste bin, he discarded the bloodied paper towel. He headed towards the appointment after that. The dark sky appeared ominous, but despite that, the city lights from afar were mesmerizing. He wondered how it would be like if he went out of the establishment more often than cooping himself up within this workspace. While trotting towards his next venue, he eyed the illustrious duo coming his way. They were one of the current top agents of MOBIUS; Wu Ji the regular and the young Daichi Kato the rookie.  
Joseph cleared his throat and said, “Good evening.” He nodded.

“Hey, Mr. Oda! Fancy seeing you here,” Wu grinned. It was as if nothing happened at the conference room earlier. Keeping it professional, as they said. He was quite the boisterous fellow. Though upbeat, he was known for his salient condescending grin. “See ya later. Don’t forget to take ’em pills.”

Wu’s partner, Daichi, bowed as a greeting. It’s probably because both he and Joseph were of the same ethnicity. The only difference was Daichi moved to Krimson City after graduating high school in Japan.

Joseph merely bowed back before the duo walked past him.

# — ♀ —

Several hours before sunrise, Sebastian already had been staring at the ceiling for who knows how long. Damned crickets wouldn’t stop chirping. Dying trees wouldn’t shut the fuck up with their leaves rustling. Little things like these irritated the hell outta him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep even if there was a deafening silence. He pondered as if he never attempted to go get some shut-eye earlier tonight. His eyelids were heavy, his nape and shoulders were numb, and his spine was sore. He was contemplating whether or not he should get his lazy-arse up for a nice freshly brewed cup of coffee. He yawned but flinched, growling and cursing under his breath.

Now, his dry lips had gotten chapped. He felt the cool air penetrate the open wound. He lightly ran two fingers across the painful slit; a little bit of blood smeared down his chin. The ends of his beard tickled his fingertips.

“Maybe I should groom again soon; stop by one of those snazzy barbershops...” he mumbled, rubbing his hands on his scruffy jaws.

The brief enjoyment of caressing his beard had ended, and Sebastian flopped both of his arms against the mattress, jolting his entire body with a slight bounce. He loudly groaned while struggling to lift his own weight off of the bed. He wanted to tough it out, yet he couldn’t help but shiver when his toes touched the cold wooden floorboards. He dragged his bulky build across the room and headed straight to the kitchen.

He almost yelled, quaking in fear, when he caught a glimpse of himself from the bathroom mirror since its door was ajar. A hand rested on his chest, and his heart was about to burst out of his ribs. The color of his face seemed to have drained, too. He finally calmed down after concentrating on his breath.

“Lily must’ve left this open,” he said. He grabbed the knob, his sight never abandoning his reflection. He was about to close the door, not until he finished judging the strong crease forming below his chin. “Did I really gain that much weight? Is it because of my age that my metabolism’s this shitty?” He stared at the rarely used weighing scale beside the countertop, sharp eyes squinting, “I’m not that old… I’m in my prime, god-damn-it. Though, I should probably check it out before having coffee.”

Sebastian moved the scale at a good distance. For some reason, he was reluctant to hop onto it. He even gulped audibly prior to gathering the courage to do so. He watched the digits ascend and descend while he balanced himself with his dry and veiny feet. As soon as the final numbers appear, he repeated the same action—twice.

“Well, motherfuckin’—” he wasn’t expecting his weight to be like that of an elephant. He thoughtlessly bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from cursing any further... only to fail and worsen the fresh scar he had a while ago. “Gargh! Fuck! Fuck! Fuckin’ shit!”

He grunted so loudly that he had to muffle his massive mouth with his callused hands. He might disturb his daughter’s sweet slumber because of his bullshit. He sighed and kicked the weighing scale. However, instead of inflicting damage onto the inanimate object, he was the one to receive it by stubbing his toe. He hopped in place, holding his foot as firm as he could. The throbbing pain hadn’t subsided yet when he flitted toward the kitchen.

“I might need to prepare a funeral for my dying toenail,” he said.

# — ♀ —

Sebastian had driven Lily off to school.

At the parking area, he opened the door for her, and Lily hugged him as soon as she got off the car.

“Bye, dad!” She kissed her father’s cheek and left, waving goodbye.

Sebastian decided to head straight home. The radio played a somber song, reminding him of his late wife. It urged tears to roll down his cheeks. He sniffled, lips trembling. It wasn’t like him to cry so easily. He wasn’t the type to. Though when it comes to family, his aggressive nature lacked, as his heart softened up quite so.  
“I’ll have you know your daughter’s doing well. So well,” he whispered, struggling to end his words. “We hope you’re doing fine, too.”

During the entire trip, Sebastian couldn’t stop sobbing. He reached home and parked the car in his garage. He didn’t step out of the vehicle yet. He just couldn’t. His hands held the steering wheel, and he leaned his forehead onto his knuckles. He contemplated where he’d gone wrong. Flashbacks haunted him—the now inactive Union.

“I’m sorry…” He whimpered, “…I couldn’t save you.”

He looked up, shaking his head. His eyes were red and swollen. Cheeks wet because of the tears. He rubbed his hand across his face, trying to dry it up. It took a moment before he exited.

Once he entered his house, Sebastian thought it’d be nice to drink some coffee, trying to forget about his issues briefly.

Later on, he received a random email, titled It’s Kidman written in the subject. It said that there were fragments of Myra Hanson left within the MOBIUS’ databank of Union. There was a probability of her reviving. Her physical body had been preserved in cryosleep. It’s hooked onto the newfound STEM.  
“Myra’s alive?”

Sebastian couldn’t believe it. First, Lily, and now, Myra? This was overwhelming. He didn’t know what to feel at first, but soon after he cried in relief.  
He said, “We could be together as a family again.”

He wished to respond to the email, but he wasn’t able to because the headnote had a no-reply prompt.

“Kidman should’ve written her contact in here, better yet an actual e-mail addre—” he gasped, “Fuck. Could this really be Kidman?”

He had his suspicions. A conundrum disturbed his mind. Of course, this could be a trap. It must be set up by none other than MOBIUS.

“Huh, I should’ve guessed sooner. Heh,” Sebastian said, scowling, “I thought it already ended a long time ago, but here they are making a comeback… tryna be sly and all that shit.”

Sebastian pondered. MOBIUS had the nerve using Myra as bait, sending an invitation and taunting him.

He perused the e-mail for hidden messages.

To no avail, there was nothing left to decrypt except the last line: _(Page 1 of 2)_. He scrolled up and down and refreshed the site a few times. There were no new pages or emails that loaded. No cryptic notes; just incomplete. It was like he’s bound to sit still and wait for the next message to arrive. His gut implied that this was obviously done on purpose.

“Ah, fuck.”

Patience wasn’t Sebastian’s best trait. Nonetheless, he thought it was his family’s safety is on the line here. He shouldn’t be so brash in spite of the boiling blood in his veins.

“You expect me to just sit on my ass here, eh. Not happening,” he mumbled.

Phone at hand, he called the wife of his missing friend (who was also his former partner at the police department in the past) to pick up his daughter at school ASAP. He pleaded for her to take care of his child. The wife was so confused and agitated, but Sebastian kept his answers vague. She pleaded for him to return soon, as her husband never did. She never lost faith, wishing he’d return in her arms again.

Seeing Lily alone wouldn’t be such a pretty sight. Sebastian mentioned he’s more than aware of what that felt like before when she vanished. He bothered not to call Lily’s school because it’s plausible that they could be related to his adversary. He also didn’t hesitate to contact his workplace and chose to be AWOL. No evidence—not a trace—should be left behind. Good thing that the emergency and bunker kits were stacked and shelved in the basement. Lily even lent Sebastian a hand on preparing them.

He deeply sighed, rubbing the dents in his temples and the wrinkling bridge of his nose. His strained eyes shut tightly.

He’s usually swift and brash. This time, he decided to be as prudent as he could.

For now, Sebastian needed to flee.

…and he did.


End file.
